About
William Klein grew up in New York and, as a painter, went to work in Fernand Leger's Paris studio. He became interested in photography to record movement in his paintings and began using a camera. He was soon photographing other interests, and in 1954 his work was seen by American Vogue art director (and sculptor) Alexander Liberman, who offered him a contract as a fashion photographer.
Liberman saw in his work a fresh approach and one that seemed to have a certain violence that would move the magazine away from the 'polite' images of Cecil Beaton. Because Klein did not know how to use a studio, he took the models out onto the streets to photograph. Later he pioneered the use of wide angle and telephoto lenses for fashion work.
Klein's photo-reportage style involved a rejection of the established notion of the photographer as a 'fly on the wall', an unseen recorder of events. Klein recognized this and through his methods emphasized the interaction between photographer and subject, oftentimes almost pushing his wide angle camera lens into people’s faces.
He went on to produce a book, New York, New York (1956) which featured this quick reflex 35mm street photography with a graphic design and text reflective of the New York Daily News and cheap advertising. This was followed by later books on Rome (1960), Moscow (1964) and Tokyo (1964).
Klein also made a number of movies, starting with one of the first Pop films, Broadway by Light. In 1962 he gave up still photography (except for a few fashion pictures for Vogue) to produce films on Muhammed Ali and Little Richard, the Vietnam War, and experimental films Mr Freedom and Qui-Êtes Vous Polly Magoo, a satire of Vogue.
Klein returned to still photography circa 1980, mainly photographing people in crowd situations using an extreme wide angle lens. His work is held in major museum collections including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and the Museum of Modern Art de la Ville, Paris.
Liberman saw in his work a fresh approach and one that seemed to have a certain violence that would move the magazine away from the 'polite' images of Cecil Beaton. Because Klein did not know how to use a studio, he took the models out onto the streets to photograph. Later he pioneered the use of wide angle and telephoto lenses for fashion work.
Klein's photo-reportage style involved a rejection of the established notion of the photographer as a 'fly on the wall', an unseen recorder of events. Klein recognized this and through his methods emphasized the interaction between photographer and subject, oftentimes almost pushing his wide angle camera lens into people’s faces.
He went on to produce a book, New York, New York (1956) which featured this quick reflex 35mm street photography with a graphic design and text reflective of the New York Daily News and cheap advertising. This was followed by later books on Rome (1960), Moscow (1964) and Tokyo (1964).
Klein also made a number of movies, starting with one of the first Pop films, Broadway by Light. In 1962 he gave up still photography (except for a few fashion pictures for Vogue) to produce films on Muhammed Ali and Little Richard, the Vietnam War, and experimental films Mr Freedom and Qui-Êtes Vous Polly Magoo, a satire of Vogue.
Klein returned to still photography circa 1980, mainly photographing people in crowd situations using an extreme wide angle lens. His work is held in major museum collections including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and the Museum of Modern Art de la Ville, Paris.